Sunday, July 31, 2005

"Bad dentures, missing teeth, rows of cavities - these are health problems associated with poorer, more rural parts of Maine, not York County, a place known for affluent seaside communities and explosive population growth.

But to clinicians at Spruce Street Health Center, these clearly are issues endemic in Maine's southernmost county, which quietly struggles with pockets of poverty and a shortage of health care practitioners.

For every 3,012 York County residents, there is just one dentist, compared with 2,165-to-1 statewide. The physician ratio for York County - 1,506-to-1 - also is worse than the state ratio of 1,039-to-1.

To counter those numbers, Spruce Street Health Center opened this year, becoming Maine's 18th federally qualified health center - and York County's first. Under the designation, Spruce Street receives substantial support from the federal government for seeing everybody who walks through its doors, regardless of their ability to pay."

Saturday, July 30, 2005

"Jared Frederickson, a 21-year-old college student from Colorado Springs, has such a severe case of fluorosis that he had cosmetic laminates applied to his front teeth to hide the discoloration when he was in seventh grade.

'My baby teeth had a lot of brown stains, and my adult teeth were worse; they had pits and more brown spots,' Frederickson says. Today, he has so much decay that he bought a supplemental dental insurance policy to pay the expenses that exceed his regular coverage. "

Friday, July 29, 2005

"A 2003 survey by the N.H. Hospital Association and the Oral Health Workgroup of 24 emergency departments showed respondents estimate 90 percent of the patients seen for nontraumatic oral health problems have no access to routine preventive and restorative care.

So, many people wait until there is a crisis. Small cavities become abscesses, gum infections turn into periodontal disease. Toothaches ensue and teeth fall out. That is when the patients come to the emergency room. Most are in their mid 20s to late 40s. People over 55 have usually lost all their teeth, said Ramdev. "

Tuesday, July 26, 2005

"Goddard has horror stories about children suffering from dental problems, from a 9-year-old girl whose teeth were broken off and had to be pulled to an 8-year-old boy in so much pain from cavities that the only way he could sleep at night was to bang his head on a wall to knock himself out."

Friday, July 22, 2005

"Governor Doyle said. 'Tooth decay is the most common chronic childhood disease in Wisconsin today - five times more prevalent than asthma. I know how terrible I feel when I have a toothache ... I can't imagine what it's like for a kid trying to concentrate in school."

"..., the local dental community also was 'getting some heat' from area legislators and officials, says Dr. Rose. 'They saw this as a problem that the dental community needed to address. People in pain were using the hospital emergency rooms for dental treatment.'"

Thursday, July 21, 2005

Monday, July 18, 2005

Dr. Douglass explained,
“Especially in the 25% of the population
that is low income, and especially among
those who do not speak English at home,
dental disease in three, four, or five teeth is
not uncommon. Fluoridation in Cambridge
water is not an immunization against
dental disease.”

YOUR correspondent Ian Hernon reports that tooth decay on Merseyside is twice the national average (ECHO July 8).

This is partly attributed, we are told, to a 'lack of fluoridation'. We are also told that Tyneside has the same scale of problem as Merseyside. However, Tyneside has been completely fluoridated for over 30 years so why are the teeth of adults there no better than here?"

Sunday, July 17, 2005

"The advocacy coalition Health Care for All had argued in court that the state violated the civil rights of children by not adopting changes that would make it easier for them to have their teeth cleaned and their cavities filled. As a result, advocates have documented cases in which children of the poor wait months, even years, for an appointment."